Panda Managed Office Protection Review

If you take security seriously, then you already know that every endpoint on (or off) your network needs to be running some kind of protection. Endpoint protection typically consists of at least anti-malware, host-based intrusion prevention (HIPS) and a software firewall, all managed and deployed by a dedicated management server.

The overhead of installing and managing a central command and control server can be a burden depending on the size of the company and available resources. Many companies, particularly small to midsize companies, frequently find themselves trapped in the difficult position of needing a centrally managed solution without having the resources to install, configure, deploy and manage one.

Enter Panda Managed Office Protection (MOP).  This SAAS (software as a service) server, and workstation anti-malware solution, allows systems to be managed and protected from a central location, regardless of whether they are inside or outside the company network.

This saves on the upfront cost of buying and installing a central management server and the ongoing cost of maintaining that server.  Administrators can log into the Web-based management console from anywhere to deploy software agents, trigger anti-malware scans and push policy to clients.

Panda MOP is a bit different from other SAAS offerings in that it also makes full use of true cloud-based functionality for analysis of suspicious files. Panda’s Collective Intelligence system, available in all Panda products, stores the vast majority of signatures in the cloud while deploying only the signatures of malware the client is likely to encounter to the client itself.

Each client also reports malware prevalence back into the Collective Intelligence system. The client software provides definition- and heuristic-based protection for files, e-mail, HTTP/FTP downloads and instant messaging; a software firewall; and a HIPS.

Panda MOP, which costs $35 (£22) per seat per year, is not truly competitive with Symantec’s, Trend Micro’s or McAffee’s business-focused endpoint protection products. On the bright side, it has a light footprint and is very easy to deploy and manage.

To the Test

I tested Panda MOP on three Windows XP Pro workstations and on one Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition system running in virtual machines on VMware Workstation 6.5 for Windows Vista.

Installation and configuration were as easy as they should be with an endpoint security solution in the SAAS model. I browsed to the secure Website management portal and created protection profiles for groups and users.  MOP can be deployed either by sending users a link to the install package or by downloading the distribution tool, building your own packages and deploying them however you want.  Both ways worked in my tests, and with each the install package was pretty small, roughly 5MB.

The client application itself runs quietly on the system tray. Users can click the panda bear icon and choose to run a quick scan, a full scan, an e-mail scan; view firewall status; update the software/definitions; or view help.  Users have no additional control over the app, it is all managed from the management portal.